Before I get to my album list for '04, I just wanted to draw attention to the "In the Sweet Kitchen" Photo Album to the right. My picture post entitled "Vanilla Marshmallows, Part 2" references a recipe from an article in the Philly Inquirer. That recipe can be found here. The post reminded me that I need to write about my sumptuous Chocolate/Afternoon Tea experience at the Ritz-Carlton a short while ago. In case you didn't get the memo (don't worry, I didn't get one either), the Ritz has a Chocolate Sommelier that whips up the most luscious and grown-up hot cocoa that ever found its way into a mug. It's a ton of fun, but it's also a ton of chocolate, so be warned that when your kids only take two sips, you'll probably regret shelling out those 8 dollars. Stressed parents take respite, the sommelier offers a spiked version; teens do not, they card. Believe me.
Anyways, onto the list. 2004 marked the first time in my young music-loving life that I could actually participate in the year end list hullabaloo. Before I was relegated to the sidelines, scrambling around in December to listen to the years most highly touted releases. The evolution of my musical tastes started, appropriately, back with the tunes of the 60s, and moved forward from there. I bounced around the 70s for awhile, and even skimmed the 80s for a brief period. Like many early teens - well, not so many in these days of Clear Channel and MTV - I thought that music had stagnated in the most recent decades. Internet acquaintances pointed me to newer bands that were near reincarnations of older greats, and my appreciation of them led me into the 90s and finally, to the present year. Now, mind you, this little evolution all occurred over the course of about 3 years (stop sniggering), so I obviously still have a lot of ground to cover in those previous decades, but I do feel to have a strong and diverse enough backround to feel at ease listening to the current releases. I do regret the amount of new stuff I waded through this year, because it did slow my musical evolution and separated me from furthering my Jazz and "World" (oh I hate that term) music collections. Hey, there's always 2005.
Without further ado, I present Minor Gourmand's 2004 List [actually, some more ado: My knowledge of new releases comes mostly from forums, such as I Love Music, some magazines, DJ Martian's massive release database, and some review-oriented sites: Pitchfork, Tiny Mix Tapes, etc. This list, though, is all my own, and truly expresses what my favorite listening experiences were last year. This list is being printed for the latest issue of my school newspaper. Hopefully some of my less musically inclined classmates (read: boring), will take heed (read: snob).]
Pop Muzik: My Top 10 Albums of the Year
1) Animal Collective – Sung Tongs
A psyched-out freak folk group makes an album that seamlessly bridges the gap between annoying noise exercises and floating harmonies. The four twenty-something band members have managed to tap into their inner-child to create an album that is capricious but never loses focus on the music surrounding their gleeful shouting. The first two tracks are seriously mind-bending.
2) Madvillain – Madvillainy
This album single-handedly changed my opinions about rap. The repetitiveness of corporate rap, where it’s all about the g’s and the get-ups, is replaced by the unique visions of the shape-shifting M.C. at the head of the Madvillain duo, MF Doom. Doom takes his cues from the cosmos to create lyrics that are so endlessly clever you’ll find yourself uncontrollably yelling out “oh snap!”
3) Fiery Furnaces – Blueberry Boat
One of two truly epic productions I heard in 2004, the Friedberger duo has created a musical concoction that mixes and matches rhythms without regret. There are enough riffs and keyboard sections in the 10-minute opener to make an entire album. Although their musical potlucks may leave some listeners with the cold shoulder, everyone can find something to love. Worse comes to worst, you may need a Ritalin dose for those initial listens, but soon after you’ll be mostly concerned with weaning yourself from your Blueberry Boat addiction.
4) Devendra Banhart – Rejoicing in the Hands
“It's like finding home in an old folk song that you've never ever heard, still you know every word.” What is so refreshing about Banhart’s album is that it sounds timeless. His songs combine great guitar picking with playful lyrics and a warbling voice. Whether he likes it or not, this album is the cynosure of the neo-folk movement.
5) Junior Boys – Last Exit
It’s eerie describing this album, how its cold electronic blips and beeps are so warm when wrapped around the hush whisper of the lead singer. Every song here is solid - each one swells into a mellow chill-out or a pulsating dance-track. It’s electronica minus some of the pointless meandering.
6) Xiu Xiu – Fabulous Muscles
And this one’s just eerie. I loved the grandiose electric keyboard work, but appreciated how well they could cool things down to focus on the macabre lyrics. The one thing about front man Jamie Stewart, is that if you take him too seriously, you’ve missed the point. There’s some shock and awe packed inside, but it’s all in good experimental fun!
7) Arcade Fire - Funeral
These youngsters certainly received boatloads of praise for their debut, but for once the hype is mostly deserved. Although they do not take a radically different musical approach, they craft songs so pensive and empowering that the resulting tunes prove to be wise beyond their years. The Neighborhood song quartet is really stunning. Oh, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the lead singer doubled as Napoleon Dynamite for that difficult dance choreography – as if you needed more reason to like the band.
8) A.C. Newman – Slow Wonder
If you are familiar with the indie supergroup, the New Pornographers, than you know they combine guitar power-pop and snappy lyrics with impeccable ease. This member of the cohort follows up the formula flawlessly. This type of guitar-led rock is not much different than fellow rocker Ted Leo’s best work, but sometimes it’s good to flaunt your influences. Listen to “Miracle Drug” and wonder why it’s not getting radio play.
9) Björk – Medulla
Björk’s latest album is a mouthful, literally. The eclectic Icelander surrounds her vocals with guttural shrills, hums, and some nifty studio work to craft an orchestration that speaks volumes. She has gathered talent from a multitude of genres – from choir music to beat boxing – to give her audience an experience that is both imaginative and unrepeatable. Understandably, not all of the songs are able to maintain a coherent flow, some are just plain messy, but Medulla is always fascinating and sometimes just plain brilliant.
10) The Streets – A Grand Don’t Come for Free
Brit rapper Mike Skinner knows that life is really made up of the small stuff, and so he created A Grand Don’t Come for Free to be his opus to the seemingly inconsequential. Topics range from channel surfing the telly to the perils of cell phone batteries, but despite the banality of the lyrical content, I found myself wanting to commiserate through multiple listenings. The album does lose some of its luster after a few spins, but I imagine that every once in awhile Skinner’s big beats and cockney prattle will be just the right mix for “another one of those days.”
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